[Jejunostomy catheter feeding during postoperative chemotherapy for Stage IV gastric cancer]

Chemotherapy followed by surgery for Stage IV gastric cancer with passage obstruction poses a problem in terms of poor postoperative nutritional status. By maintaining an adequate postoperative nutrition status with jejunostomy catheter feeding, chemotherapy may possibly be continued. We treated 40 cases of Stage IV gastric cancer with passage obstruction from January 2008 to December 2011. In every case, jejunostomy catheter feeding tubes were placed during gastric cancer surgery. We performed 13 total gastrectomies, 20 distal gastrectomies, and 7 gastrojejunal bypass surgeries. Tube obstruction in 4 cases( 10%) and tube deviation in 1 case( 2.5%) occurred during the tube feeding period. Chemotherapy could be resumed in 37 cases( 92.5%), and the duration of chemotherapy was 330 days( range, 41-721). In cases of Stage IV gastric cancer, patients are obliged to start postoperative chemotherapy at an unstable period. By starting jejunal catheter feeding at an early stage after surgery, improved results could be expected in terms of shortening of the hospital stay or continuation of chemotherapy.